Visitors – 5 September 2025

Visitors means tidying up, hoovering (or Dyson-ning) and maybe some dusting. So it was today when we realised that Jamie & Simmone were on their way to Scotland.

Scamp was off to FitSteps and I volunteered to hoover the stairs and the downstairs area. You forget just how much clutter there is in a house until you have to tidy it up and remove all the dust and paper. I know now just how much Scamp does in the house, while I’m swanning around pretending to be useful. But we know all that work will be short lived because I’m plain lazy.

With a bit of the work done and a space created in the back bedroom that could almost be described as “liveable in”, I changed from ‘cleaner mode’ to ‘shopper’, and went to find the articles on my shopping list. Meanwhile Scamp ‘Sorted the House’. I think that means she undid all the work I’d already done and made the house look like it was made fro humans to live in. I just let her get on with it.

Late in the afternoon the travellers arrived in Cumbersheugh and we could all rest for a while and hear about their plans for the weekend. They were coming up to Scotland for a wedding. Two of their friends were getting married on Saturday up north, near Oban. They had finally met Andrew, our business man and part-time comic.

Dinner tonight was Spinach & Chickpea Curry. I’d been the first person to make it a few months ago. Made from a book that Scamp had bought for me and a mine of useful information. It took a bit longer than I’d anticipated, but although it was a wee bit hot, it was almost as good as the first one I’d made and also tasted quite like the one Scamp had made too. I like it when a plan comes together like that.

I gave Simonne my A6500 with the kit lens a new SD card and a quick explanation of the vital bits and pieces she’d need as she was going to be photographer for the wedding. She seemed to understand most of what I was saying and, because she’d used an old Nikon before, had a fairly good knowledge of the basics of photography.

After that it was early bed for the travellers who’d driven about nine hours to reach Bonnie Scotland and were tired out. Tomorrow was going to be another long day, I feared!

PoD was a bunch of acorns hanging from a low branch on an oak tree I passed on the way to do the shopping. Not very inspiring, but at least I had something done.

Tomorrow will be an early rise for all. Then, when the youngsters drive up to meet the rest of the wedding party, we might go back to bed for another forty winks.